UPDATE: SGA responds to Dattco shuttle threats

Quinnipiac’s Student Government Association responded swiftly after hearing that the university’s contract with Dattco shuttle service may be in jeopardy because of students receiving urination citations.

SGA has responded to the possibility of losing New Haven shuttles with posters and flyers in Café Q and is planning to send an email to the student body.

Phil Nobile/Chronicle

“We’re calling it the ‘Respect Your Ride’ campaign,” Junior Class Representative Heidi Hitchen said. “It’s about reminding students that the shuttles to New Haven are a privilege, not a right, and we need to respect them.”

One poster in the hallway near Café Q reads, “It has been considered by QU Administration and [Dattco] shuttles to discontinue shuttles to New Haven on the weekends due to a number of incidents of public indecency. Take responsibility for your actions. Shuttles are a privilege, not a right.”

The movement started after 38 Quinnipiac Students were cited by New Haven Police for urinating on downtown public property, Vice President and Dean of Students Manuel Carreiro said at an SGA meeting Wednesday afternoon.

Hitchen said there is no backup plan at this time if Dattco pulls its services. Carreiro encouraged the organization to help students control their bladders after exiting the shuttles. He pointed out that “students listen to their peers over administration,” and that it can’t be a “top down effort.”

“I do not, at all, want to lose the opportunity for a shuttle to New Haven,” Carreiro said. “That shuttle is extremely important to me, as well as knowing my students are safe.”

Lesly Alvarez/Chronicle

Carreiro also commented that it bothers him that the “minority” of students can ruin the opportunity for students to get safely to New Haven.